


Unplanned Things

by schroedingersfox



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Gift Fic, Human AU, Humor, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki-centric, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Teenage Tony Stark, teenage loki, teenage thor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2754677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schroedingersfox/pseuds/schroedingersfox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With parents out of town for the night, and teenage Thor and Tony left to keep an eye on younger brother Loki, what could possibly go wrong? ...is probably the worst question to ever ask.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unplanned Things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [usedupshiver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/usedupshiver/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Signs of Life (FrostIron Collection)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2280456) by [usedupshiver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/usedupshiver/pseuds/usedupshiver). 



> Gift fic for usedupshiver, surprise! I was your Tumblr mystery anon. :)
> 
> This was inspired by the all too cute "Tricks and Thunderstorm" chapters of their "Signs of Life" collection, so definitely read those as well!

Out of all the things he had planned for that night, this was not one of them.

\---

When their mother had stopped by their room earlier that week to announce a sudden overnight trip, Loki could feel his shoulders droop with displeasure even as he gave her his full attention from his position on the bed, open book momentarily resting on his knees.

“I've already talked to Thor,” said Frigga, her tone almost apologetic. Her hand rested on the door frame and she gave her youngest son a discerning look. His eyes were wide and bright, but his hand gripped the side of the book a bit too firmly.

“He’s agreed to keep watch while we’re away, so long as he could invite over a friend.” After a pause to let that sink in, she added (with a hint of smile on her lips), “You’ll have company, so I expect for you to play nice.”

Loki matched his mother’s smile with one of his own. “Of course.”

\---

It wasn't hard to tell when Thor arrived home that night with his friend in tow—the slamming of the front door and the raucous laughter made Loki’s nose crinkle, even as he caught himself poking his head out of the bedroom door to catch a glimpse. He didn't often meet with Thor’s friends, electing to avoid them altogether if he could, but like with most of them he found he didn't miss much by ignoring them.

Thor, on the other hand…

He still hadn't forgotten climbing into his bed the night before, only to find his feet frustratingly stopped halfway by the out-of-place fold in his top sheet. Thor had burst into guffaws from his side of the room at his prank, and even as Loki shot a fierce glare in his brother’s direction—ears burning and no doubt turning red—he still had to admit it was nothing short of a miracle that Thor hadn't given away the game early through bit-back laughter or too many glances in Loki’s direction.

So, there was that grievance to address.

Peering over the balcony now, watching the two older boys shrug off their book bags to the floor, Loki realized that he had met the friend—Tony, or something?—a time or two before. He gave him an appraising look while he still was able, neither of them having noticed him looking on above. They turned to leave the entry hall, still engrossed in their conversation, when Loki called out to Thor, “Mom left pizza money in the kitchen.”

It wasn't entirely true—she hadn't specified, but Loki refused another night of Chinese takeout where Thor devoured more than his fair share. Pizza was cheap, and an acceptable alternative, and if Thor used the whole amount (leaving some for a tip) there’d still be plenty left over, no matter how ravenous Thor and his friend turned out to be.

At his voice the two finally spotted him on the stairs, and Thor absolutely beamed. “Awesome, thanks,” he said, before slapping his hand to Tony’s shoulder to lead him into the kitchen. Loki’s eyes slid once more over to Tony, and seeing him looking back, disappeared into the upstairs hallway.

\---

Their parents had left earlier that morning, citing a long drive ahead of them. The day seemed to drag on, but like usual, Loki had gotten home early from school plenty of time ahead of Thor—he certainly did not rush home in anticipation, just like he certainly did not have prior knowledge of where the more… _illicit_ videos were hidden in the house.

Thor had rented some new blockbuster the day before in preparation. The commercials for it had never seemed to get Loki interested, but it was apparently pretty popular when it first released in theaters. It was just sitting there, on the coffee table ready to go, and Loki had nearly smirked at how simple this would be. A quick peek at the label, followed by a quick perusal through the collection-that-doesn't-exist to find a similar match in color and design, and it was easy to make the swap and hide the actual movie in plain sight next to the TV. Whoever said he wasn't generous?

When the doorbell rang, and the smell of fresh pizza wafted in the room, Loki closed his book, set it aside, and padded downstairs.

His first stop was the dining room. Based on the sounds, Thor and Tony were still in the kitchen, grabbing plates from the cabinets and possibly drinks from the fridge. When their voices seemed to dim, most likely heading into the living room, Loki pulled the candle lighter from his sweatshirt and stretched his arm up to the smoke detector. A few clicks and the flame appeared from the metal end, touching the detector with a hot caress.

The effect was almost immediate, and as the alarm chirped in a loud, angry buzz, he exited the room through the other set of doors leading into the kitchen. He pressed his back to the side of the fridge, hearing startled cries from the living room, and when he saw the two older boys rush down the hallway to try and find which one of the damned sensors was screaming, he entered the living room to take stock.

Pizzas were left crooked and haphazard on the plates on the coffee table, one very near to the edge from being set down in a rush. In a stroke of fate that made his lips curl into a smile, there sat also two Coke bottles, still unopened.

 _What a shame to waste this chance_ , he thought as he grabbed them both, shaking quickly and vigorously, before setting them back down and slipping into the computer room. He pulled up solitaire and tried to look busy.

The smoke detector was finally silenced, but it wasn't long after before he heard the sharp fizz of an angry soda, and Thor’s confused and plaintive shout. It was even sooner for the sounds of the movie to start up mid-scene, a breathy _Oh, yes, yes!_ being drowned out by hurried movements and a string of expletives following a loud _thud_.

When Thor and Tony finally showed up in the doorway looking frazzled and worse for wear, accusing looks on their faces, Loki could only give them a wide-eyed look and a shrug. They left him alone after that, even when he left the room to get his own plate for dinner, and he was very pleased to find that there was, indeed, plenty of pizza left.

\---

There was no practice in the world that could hide his frown when he saw Thor drag the thin, spare mattress into their room. Loki made no effort to help, crossing his arms the whole time instead. The sound of the mattress flopping onto the floor between their beds put a note of finality to the whole affair. Loki rolled his eyes and gave a huff, crawled into bed (he made sure the sheets were fine this time), and turned to face the wall and away from the other two.

He could hear Tony come into the room not much later, and though the light was turned out, Thor and Tony never stopped their conversation. He gave it five minutes. Then ten.

Tony laughed at Thor’s story, before adding, “Oh man, that’s right, did you see what Steve did today in gym?”

Loki couldn't take it anymore, groaning audibly. “If you two are going to gossip all night then go back downstairs,” he hissed, still facing the wall.

The silence in the room hung between their beds, before Tony chuckled apologetically. “Sorry Lokes, our bad. We’ll be quiet.”

The familiarity of the nickname made Loki’s lips press into a line, but true to Tony’s word, they stayed quiet. And if they started back up in whispers only a half-minute later, he could at least ignore those.

\---

What he couldn't ignore was the flash of light.

His eyes shot open, his senses on high alert as he tried to come down from the sudden jolt of being woken mid-dream. Just before he settled into the assumption that maybe he had been imagining things, that what was coming was not actually happening, a soft roll of thunder sounded off in the distance. _Great_ , Loki thought with despair, as he jerked the blanket up over his head and rolled onto his side, drawing his knees towards his chest.

With every flash and rumble, his whole body pulled tight and shook. He clasped a hand to his mouth to muffle his cries, tears burning hot streaks down his face in embarrassment and shame.

“You all right, Loki?”

The sudden voice behind him made him jump nearly as high as the previous thunderclap did, and he whipped himself over to find himself face-to-face with Tony. He didn't even hear the rustle of Tony getting out of bed, let alone feel the edge of his own mattress dip with the weight of his arms, but there he was, brows furrowed in concern.

The sudden start did wonders to stop his crying, at least, but as he opened his mouth to push out some excuse that he was fine, to just leave him alone, a bright flash and crackling boom had every one of his thoughts dominated by a single need to hide and merge with the bed.

“No, I’m not all right!” he managed to say, his voice small. “I hate thunderstorms!”

Tony looked at him appraisingly, like Loki had done earlier when he first arrived home with Thor. “Move over, then.”

If Loki wasn't lying down, he would have tilted his head in bewilderment, but before he knew it Tony was off the ground and in his bed, easing him towards the wall. Tony flipped the pillow and lay down, his arm coming up and around Loki’s back.

Loki froze then, the feel of that arm pressing hot into his skin, but he found that he liked it; and after a pause, he relaxed his shoulders, unfurling himself against the other boy’s touch.

The question was soft, but when Tony asked, “Better?” Loki nodded the truth: that he was. He curled closer against Tony, wrapping his own arm around him like a mirror image. His face was pressed close to Tony’s neck, and it took all his concentration to keep his breathing calm, like the arm holding him close and the smell of his skin and hair wasn't driving him absolutely wild.

As Loki drifted back off to sleep, he gripped the fabric of Tony’s shirt, not letting the receding storm take with it this warmth.

He didn't plan for any of this, but maybe that was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I honestly haven't written for fandom in years, and writing for a fandom as large and amazing as The Avengers is pretty daunting, but after reading Tricks and Thunderstorms and wondering just how Loki planned his mischief... well. I couldn't stop it, and what better than human AU fluff to get back into the swing of things?


End file.
